Teach DeepCode how you work

Use project instructions for conventions DeepCode should follow every time, Skills for reusable task instructions, and memory for project notes you want to keep. You can read and edit all three as ordinary files.

Project instructions — AGENTS.md

Create an AGENTS.md in your project root. Write down the information you would give a new contributor: how to run tests, where key code lives, and which conventions to follow. For example, adapt this to your project:

# Working in this repository

- Application code lives in src/; tests live in tests/.
- Run python -m unittest discover -s tests -v after changing Python code.
- Follow the existing formatting and naming conventions.
- Update the README when changing a user-facing command.

DeepCode reads project instructions when you start a Session. For a package with its own conventions, add another AGENTS.md inside that package. Instructions closer to your working directory take precedence when they conflict.

Where to put instructions	When to use it
<repo>/AGENTS.md	Conventions for everyone working in this project
<repo>/packages/app/AGENTS.md	Rules specific to one package
~/.deepcode/AGENTS.md	Your personal preferences across projects

If a directory already has DEEPCODE.md or CLAUDE.md, DeepCode can read that instead. Within one directory, it uses the first available file in this order: AGENTS.md, DEEPCODE.md, CLAUDE.md.

Skills — reusable playbooks

A Skill gives DeepCode instructions for a particular kind of task, such as a code review or release checklist. To see which Skills you have, enter:

/skills

Choose a name from the list and load it for your next message:

/skill SKILL_NAME

Replace SKILL_NAME with the installed name, then describe your task. You can also include the Skill directly in a message:

$SKILL_NAME review the changes on this branch

Select the Skill again when you want to use it on another turn.

To create one, ask the bundled Skill Creator for help:

$skill-creator Create a Skill for our release checklist. Include the steps
for running tests, updating the changelog, and checking the release version.

Review the generated instructions and adjust them for your project. A Skill is a folder containing SKILL.md and, optionally, supporting scripts or references. Put it in the location that matches how you want to share it:

Location	Available to
<repo>/.agents/skills/	This project; commit it to share with contributors
~/.agents/skills/	Your projects on this computer

DeepCode also reads .deepcode/skills/ and .claude/skills/. When importing a Skill from another agent, check that any tools or scripts it names are available here. Use deepcode skill list to inspect Skills from your shell and deepcode skill --help for import and management commands.

Skills guide the work; your project trust and tool permissions still apply.

Memory — keep project notes

Ask DeepCode to remember a decision you want available in future conversations:

Remember that this project uses UTC for stored timestamps and converts to
local time only when displaying them. Save this in the project memory.

Check the saved note after DeepCode writes it. Project memory lives in <workspace>/.deepcode/memory/; MEMORY.md is the index loaded into new Sessions, and other files can hold longer notes. You can edit these files to correct or remove information as your project changes.

For a rule every contributor should follow, put it in AGENTS.md. For a repeatable task, create a Skill. Use memory for the project decisions and context you want to carry into later work.

Plugins — add a collection of Skills

A local Plugin can package several Skills and MCP server definitions together. To add one from a folder you trust, use deepcode plugin add /path/to/plugin. Its Skills appear in the same catalog. See Local Plugins for the supported layout and MCP setup.